Coating machine



R. C. LANG coATIN'G MACHINE Aug. 7, 1945.

11 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 9, 1940 rllilill TORNE Aug. 7, 1945; R. c. LANG COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 1l Sheets-Sheet'l 2 Aug. 7, 1945.

R. c. LANG A COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 ll Sheets-Sheet 3 5 am M :fix MMM/:1113? l f Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 l1 Sheets-Shea?l 4 l Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 ll Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORY /Paaz/w 6. AWG

Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, `1940 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 n ORN ll Sheets-Sheet 7 Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG COATING MACHINE Filed July 9. 1940 INVENTOR aaazfw fm/6 y I' Toggy Aug. 7, 1945. v R. c. LANG 2,381,502

COATING MACHINE A 33% I n 5 INVENTOR Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG 2,381,502

coATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 11 Sheets-sheet 9 Aug. 7, 1945. R. c. LANG Y2,381,502

COATING MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 11 Sheng-sheet 1o INVENTOR kwam/,f 6' m1/6 Aug. 7, 1945. R. LANG 2,381,502

COATING' MACHINE Filed July 9, 1940 11 SheeS-S'lheeIl 1l I I l I l I. f, I I yl I I I I I I I I. I l

INVENTR- faam/w 6I 0A/6 Patented Aug. 7, 1945 COATING MACHINE Rudolph C. Lang, New York, N. Y., assignor to National Biscuit Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey J Application .lilly 9, 1940, Serial N0. 344,548

30 Claims.

is placed on each pair of pins, the pins and biscuit are dipped by the operator in the coating or icing and then hung on a long conveyor chain which travels very slowly, back and forth', until the icinghas hardened, usually two to -three hours r longer. The icing tends to run to the lower Vedges of the biscuit, which' necessitates that the bars be reversed by the operator at the proper time in order to keep the coating of even approximately uniform thickness and prevent its forming tails or small knobs along one edge of the biscuit. Dipping racks or bars having opposite pairs of pins of the type commonly used are shown in the patent to Collis; No. 1,130,376. This former means and method of icing cakes has many objections that are overcome by the present invention, among which' are the breaking of cookies or biscuit when inserting them on the plus, the loss of cakes due to their falling ofi from the pins while being dipped, hand laborin -pinning the biscuit and dipping them, hand labor in turning the bars while the icing is drying, uneven th'ickness of the icing which increases the drying time sumcient for the greatest thickns of icing, large holesin the icing caused by its breaking away when the pins are removed, and loss of icing which adheres to the dipped pins, and many other objections and disadvantages.

Not only does my invention overcome all of the above noted objections. but it has many other advantages that will be apparent to th'ose skilled in this art and need not be pointed out in detail.

Reference will -be had now to the drawings in which I have shown my invention embodied in a biscuit icing machine.

Fig. l is a side elevation, largely diagrammatic, of a complete automatic icing machine.

Fig. 2A is an enlarged side elevation of the right hand vend of Fig. 1, parts being illustrated diagrammatically.

Fig. 2B is an enlarged side elevation of the lett hand end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, on a. larger scale, of

the means for automatically feeding the biscuit to the carrier chains or trolleys. i

Fig. 4 is a section online 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing the floating bearing for the` lower loop of the chain. f

Fig. 5 is a section substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the biscuit feeding means, the section being taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. I

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of part of Fig. 6 with the feed mechanism slightly advanced.

Fig. 8 is a section of one of th'e icing bars or racks, showing how the biscuit holding prongs or pins are secured to the bar.

Fig. 8A is a section en the line BA-OA of Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 is `a plan view, partly in section, of the feeding means, taken on line 9 9 of Figs. 3 and 5. l

Fig. 10 is a section through the icing or dipping tank, the section being' taken substantially on line iB IIi of Fig. 12.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the means for de-taillng or removing excess icing from the lower edge of the cakes.

Fig. 12 is a top plan of the icing tank sh'own in Fig. 10.

Fig. 13 is a cross section of the. icing tank, taken l on line |3 I3 of Figs. 10 and 12.

Figs. 14 and 15 are detail views, taken on the lines M H and i5-I5 of the Fig. 11.

Fig. 16 is a diagram of the power drive.

Fig. 17 is a section taken on line Il l'i of'Fig. 18 of the steam washing and sterilizing tank for the icing bars.

Fig. 18 is a section on line Il i8 of Fig, 17.

Fig. 19 is an enlarged vertical sectionalview of the take-o3 or unloader that is shown diagram; matically at the extreme right of Figs. 1 and 2A.

Fig. 20 is an enlarged view of the rotatable transfer chute of Fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is a h'orizontal section of the unloader, taken on line 2| 2i of Fig. 19.

Figs. 22 and 23 are perspective views of typical round and oval biscuit that have been iced on the present invention.

Fig. 24 -is a detail view of the adjustable guide bars or tracks for supporting the carrier chains or trolleys between sprockets.

Fig. 25 is a section on line v25 25 of Fig. 24.

I will refer first to Figs. 1, 2A and 2B in which I have illustrated diagrammatically one form of my invention embodied in a biscuit icing machine. This machine consists essentially of an endless carrier comprising two parallel chains which are v holding bars and in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the chains carry about 2400 of thesebars andtake from 2`to4hourstomake a complete circuit. Each bar is ilxed at its two ends to the respective chains and has a number of laterally projecting fingers or pins that are adapted tohold the articlesthat aretobeicedor coated. Th'ese pins are xed to the bars which` inturnareflxedtolinksofthechainssothatas the chains pass around the sprockets, the ilngers will point down on what I will call the lower horizontal runs of the chains and will point vertically upward on those horizontal runs of the chain which I will call the upper horizontal runsf. On the vertical runs of the chain, these fingers will point horizontally to one side or the other depending upon the direction of the run of the chain.

The articles held by the ngers, at one point in the travel of the chains, dip into a tank which holds the coating material. cles with the liquid coating material and as the chains continue their travel, the articles are lifted from the tank, and the coating material being liquid tends to iiow down and collect at the bottom edges of the articles which are heldl by the fingers with their lower edges in herizontal planes on the horizontal runs of the chains. A short distance beyond the dipping tank, the distance depending upon the viscosity and rapidity with which the coating material sets, I provide wiping rollers in the path of the articles which are adapted to wipe oil' the excess coating material that has collected along their bottomedges. This wiping action takes place on a run of the chain where the lingers are pointing down. The chains then pass around sprockets which turn the ngers up so that the coating material tends to flow back over the arleles. The sprockets are thenarranged so that the position of the ngers'are reversed at frequent intervals 45 which insures an even spreading of the coating over the biscuit. The nrst horizontal runs of the chains, after the biscuit have been coated and while `the'coating material is suiiiciently huid to iiow readily, are comparatively short, the lengths 5|) of the runs vincreasing as the viscosity of the material increases. 'Ihe chain is then passed through a number of horizontal runs so that the coating material sets and during this time, a current of air, properly conditioned, is caused to iiow 55 over the articles to set or harden the coating material more quickly. When coating biscuit, it is' usually necessary to provide two or more coats of the icing material, which may be of the same or diilerent kinds. After the first coating has a0 hardened, the chains pass over a second coating or dipping tank in which the articles are again immersedl to give them a second coat of icing. The excess material is wiped ofi' after the second dipping and the chains carried through another 55 series of horizontal runs through a chamber in which a current of properly conditioned `air is maintained until the second coat of icing is hardcned. This process of dipping, wiping and hardening is repeated for each coat. The chains car- 70 rying the biscuit in the last stage of hardening pass through a long horizontal cooling or hardeningtunnel extending the 'full length at the top of the machine through which a current of air is maintained and atthe exit end the chains pass This coats the arti- 2li` over sprockets and down on a vertical run to a take-oilstation where the iced biscuit may be removed either by hand or by an automatic takeoff. The chains then pass up carrying the empty pins and then across into a washer and sterilizer containing hot water and steam Sets whichtlioroughly clean of! the icing that may adhere to the pins and sterilizes them. The chains then pass on over another pair of sprockets and down on a vertical run and up ona second vertical run past a feeding or lloading device where biscuit are automatically inserted on the fingers carried by the chains. The chains then pass on and down over the nrst dipping tank where the biscuit are dipped as previously described.

Referring again to Figs. 1, 2A and 2B, 25 indicates the endless chains carrying the icing bars which are driven continuously from pairs of 1 sprockets 26 and 21 which are driven through transmission gearing 2l, 29 through the differential shafts ll, Il extending from opposite sides offiithe diiierentialn vthat is driven by an electricakmotortfor other source of power 33 as is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 16 and illustrad in part on Fig. 2A. The diierential shaft 3l extends to the right in Figs. 2A and 16 beyond the transmission 2i and through a transmission 3l drives a chain I5 leading to the biscuit feeding or loading device.

From the driving sprockets 26, the chains pass in a horizontal run to a pair of sprockets 38 and then `down over a pair oi' sprockets I1, just over and adjacent one end of the dipping tank 38. This tank is kept nlled with the coating material and as the chains pass over it the articles are dipped into the coating material and then lifted out as the chain travels up on the short inclined run I9, thence over the sprockets 40 and onto a substantially horizontal run 4I where the biscuit carrying lingers are pointed down and excess coatingl material drips ofi' onto the upper run of an apron l2 Awhich carries the excess coating material that drips oir back into the dipping tank Il. At a suitable point on this run 4I, indicated at or ll in Figs. 1 and 2A, wiping rollers are located which wipe olf the excess coating material which by that time is collected in knobs or tails on the lower edges of the biscuit and delivers it to the conveyor 42. The chains then pass armmd sprockets which reverses the positions of the pins so that on the run 46 the pins point up and the coating material tends to flow downward and spread evenly over the biscuit. 'I'he chains carrying the biscuit then pass through a numberyof upper and lower horizontal runs as iilustratedin Figs. 1 and 2A which continually reverse the position of the biscuit to inmre the icing being distributed in an even coat until the icing eventually is suillciently set that the lengths of the runs can be increased as indilcatedatl and Il. Thetoprunofthe chainin this section passes back to a sprocket 49 from which the chains pass on arelatively long horizontal run through a hardening passage or tunnel ll through which a current of air is forced in the opposite direction to the travel of the chains Upon leaving this hardening tunnel 50 the chains pass down on a vertical run to a pair of sprockets 31 adjacent the second dipping tank 38' in which the biscuit are dipped to receive their second coat of icing. From this second dipping tank the chains carrying the dipped articles pass over a second apron l2', which returns the excess icing to the tank 3l', and over de-tailing rollers I3' 76 ,and` 44 the sameas when nrst dipped. The

` the tunnel, the chains pass over sprockets 52 and extend down to a take-oi! or unloading station indicated generally at 53. From the unloading station, the chains pass upwardly and over sprockets 54 and then horizontally to the washer and sterilizer 55. From the sterilizer, the chains pass over sprockets 58 and down to the feeding or loading device 51. From the loading device, the chains pass upwardly and over the driving sprocket 26.

Feeding or loading mechanism supported on rollers 19' (Fig. 9) and is connected to one end of a link 19, the ODPOsite ends of whichl are connected to rocker arms 80 keyed to a rock shaft 8i which in turn has an arm 82 on the free end of which there is a roller 83 running in the groove 84 of a cam 85 that is keyed to a shaft 86 carrying a sprocket 81 driven from the chain 85 (Figs. 5 and 9). At the point opposite where the biscuit are fed to the pins, the rollers 58 run on vertical adjustable tracks or guides 88 which determine the distance at which the ends of the pins pass the chutes 13. For larger biscuit the ends of the pins will be further from the chutes and for smaller biscuit they must be closer so that the biscuit will be inserted the proper distance between the pins. The stroke of the sliding head 15, spreader 16 and pusher 18 is :iixedin'length and variations in the sizes of the As best shown inFigs. 3, 5 and 6, the chains 25 2 have rollers I8 on the pins connecting the links and every fourth link is provided with a lug or ear 58 to which the icing bars 60 are connected. 'I'he articles are held on the icing bars by laterally projecting sets of pins or lingers, each lset comprising three lingers of which two are longer than the third, the two fingers 6| being on one side of the bar and the shorter finger 62 being on the opposite side of the ybar midway between the two longer fingers. These fingers or pins may be secured to the bar in any ydesired .manner but preferably by securing them in tight fitting slots milled across opposite sides of the 4bars which I show as rectangular in cross section. The prererred method of securing these pins is best shown inv Figs. 6 and 8. Parallel slots 68 are milled across one face of the bar to receive the pins 6l which tit snugly therein. The pins are locked in by screws 84. A slot 65 is milled in the opposite face of the bar to receive the shorter pin 62. As best shownin Fig. 6, the slot 65 inclines slightly so that the free end of the pin 62 converges toward the pins 6|. The pin 62 likewise is locked to the bar by a screw 66.

At the loading station, the downward runs of the chains pass around sprockets 81 which are keyed to a shaft 68 that is mounted in yieldable bearings 69, 18 on the fixed framemembers 1| 12 of themachine. On the upward run of the chains from the sprocket 81,- the fingers 6|,y 62 extend outwardly and pass adjacent holders or chutes 18, one adjacent each set of pins carried by the respective bars, from which the articles are automatically inserted between the pins of each set. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, each of the chutes 18 holds a vertical stack of the .biscuit or cakes 14 that are to be iced. The chutes have open slots 1l on their rear sides to give access to the chutes for stacking the biscuit 14 therein. The chutes also are open at their lower ends and a sliding-head 15 is mounted to reciprocate below these open ends toward and from the fingers as they pass adjacent thereto. At its forward end this sliding head carries a spreader 16 for each chute having an upward inclined face 11 which is adapted to engage and spring upwardly the single prong 62 of each set of pins that are alinged with it on successive bars. Near itsrear side, the .sliding head carries a pusher plate 18, one for each chute, which is shown slightly less in thickness than the biscuit 14. 'Ihe pusher 18 is adjustable on the sliding head so that the space between the pusher and the inclined nose of the spreader will freely receive the lower biscuit in the stack 14. Each end of the sliding head is articles to be coated are taken care of by adjusting the tracks 88 so that the chain will run closer to or farther from the loading chutes, as may be required.

The shaft 68 supporting the sprocket 61 is yieldably mounted so as to compensate for the slight difference in the length of the run of the chain corresponding to adjustments of the guides or tracks 88.

As best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the bearings 69, 10 are mounted on vertical slides 89, 90 and are yieldably held down by springs 9i, 92 which keep the chain tight but can yield to compensate for adjustment of the guides 88.

Referring to Figs. 3, 6 and '7, the chutes or ho1ders'13 are vertically adjustable with respect to the sliding head 15. The chutes may be adjusted by means of the bolts 93 which are secured to the respective chutes and extend through slots 94, 95 in the frame. The lower ends of the chutes are adjusted at such distance from the sliding headr 15 that the pusher 18 can pass beneath the lower end of a chute and carry a. biscuit 14 with it but the space is not large enough to permit two biscuit to be pushed out. On reference to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the spreaders 16 are in `alignment with the short pins 62 and that they are sufficiently narrow to pass between the two pins 6I of each set. This is also clearly shown .in Fig. 9 and each of the slides 15 has two slots 96, 91 in alignment withthe two long pins 6| and through lwhich the latter are adapted to pass when theslide is at the end of its forward or delivery stroke, as shown in dotted lines in Fis. l

'I'he operation of the feeding or loading device is as follows: The chain carrying the ngers up in Fig. 6 is driven continuously. The set of viingers 6l, 62 `lust below the feeding device is empty 'while the set of ngers just above the feeding device is shownas having received one of the biscuit 14. With the parts as shown in Fig. 6 and the chain 25 moving upwardly, the sliding head 15 remains stationary Luntil the set of lingers that is shown in full lines just below it gets nearly up to the dotted line position. At that time the cam has turned until the crest 98 of the cam groove has reached the roller 83 on the arm 82 (Fig. 3). The roller now very quickly rides down the cam groove to the point 99 which through the levers 86, 82 andlinks 19 moves the slide in quickly toward the fingers, the pusher 18 forcing the lowest biscuit 14 forwardly with it and the inclined face of the spreader 16 engaging under the pin 62 and raising it so that the biscuit is pushed in between the lower pins 6I and the upper pin 62 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7. As the pins now continue their upward movement with the chain, the upper pin is carried away from the inclined end of the spreader and the pins pass up through the slots 96, 91 in the sliding head carrying the biscuit with them. 'I'he cam groove 84 is concentric from the lowest point 99 to approximately the point |00 during which period the sliding head remains stationary and the iingers 6| are picking up and carrying away the-biscuit that has just been fed between the fingers. As the fingers 9| come up, the ilnger 92 springs down by reason of its resilience until it comes to rest upon the top of the biscuit which is then held firmly, yet gently, between the two lower fingers and the upper linger. As soon as the cam is turned far enough for the roller to reach' the point |00, the further rotation of the can'. retracts the roller 93 until it reaches about the point |0| of the cam groove at which time the sliding head is retracted to the full line position shown in Fig. 6. As the pusher 18 moves back from under the stack of biscuit, the lowest one again.

drops into the space between the pusher and the spreader 16. From the point |0| around to the point 98 the cam groove 00 is concentric andthe sliding head remains stationary. The operation of inwardand outward strokes of the sliding head to feed a biscuit comprises approximately one-half of the rotation of the cam 85 or one-half of the time that it takes the chain to'travel the distance between two consecutive bars 60. It will be noted that the two long ilngers 6| are beneath or at the rear of the biscuit and should the biscuit encounter any resistance, these two longl fingers will press or urge it forward.

Dipping tank T'he tank containing'the coating material into which the articles are dipped is best shown in Figs. l0 and 12. 'Ihe tank 38 may be a single tank but preferably is divided by a partition |02 into two compartments each of which is supplied with coating material through an inlet pipe |03, |04 to which the coating material is supplied by electrically driven pumps which are controlled by the mercury switches |05, |08 that'are connected to arms adapted to be tilted by the rise andfall of the floats |01, |09 thatiloat on the.

coating material in the compartments of the tank.

' Each of the compartments is also provided with are spaced apart the same distance as the bars- 60 on the chains 25.' The shaft ||2 has a sprocket |20 keyed t0 it outside of the tank which is driveen by a chain |2| from a transmission |22 that is driven from one of the differential shafts (Fig. 2A) The driving connections are such that the vanes l I9 are driven at the same speed as the carrier chains'25. Referring to Fig. 10, the direction of travel ofthe vanes ||9`is from right to left on the top run and from yleft to right on the bottom run, the top run of the vanes is in the same direction and at the same speed as the carrier chains 25. It will the ligure that the biscuit 1I which are to be iced enter'between two of the vanes which propel the icing along at the same speed so that there is no pressure exerted by the icing against the forward face of the biscuit nor is there any tendency to produce a vacuum or cavity in the icing behind the biscuit. The biscuit thus travel along with f the icing Iwhile they are being dipped or coated no appreciable force exerted by the icing tending to pull ou or break the biscuit.

As shown at the left of Fig. l0, the icing adhering to the biscuit tends to run to the lower edge thereof and drip off. The icing which drips of! falls upon the belt 42 from which it is removed 'by the scraper |23 which returns it to the tank It will be noted that because of the vanes ||9, all of the material in the tank is circulating counterclockwise- (looking at Fig. 10) and that the material returned by the scraper |23 will be caught by the circulating coating material and carried down to the bottom of the tank where it will be mixed with new material coming in from the pipe |03 and then carried across the bottom of the tank and up on the right hand end to the top during which travel both the old, new

and returned material will all be uniformly mixed so that only coating material of vuniform consistency will be in the upper portion of the tank where it comes in contact with the biscuit. This uniformity of the coating material at all times contributes to uniform coating and quality of the articles. j

The lower portion of Fig. l1 shows the coated articles when they have progressed as far as the run 4| of the chain 25 (see Fig. 1). By this time drip from the lower edge of the crackers has ceased and the material has thickened slightly at the lower edges s0 as to form short knobs or 40- tails |24. The de-tailing roller or M (as the be noted on inspection of case may be) now comes in to operation to wipe oil! this excess material and drop it upon the belt 42 which returns it to the tank. These de-tailing rollers orwipers are adjustable with respect to the distance from the tank at which they will remove the excess` material and are also adjustable toward and from the carrier chains so as to operate with biscuit of different dimensions. But for each particular size of article and kind of coating material, thel de-tailers remain fixed after their initial adjustment. As shown in the drawings, the roller 43 is located in such a position as would be used for wiping oi excess chocolate material from the biscuit while the roller Il is locatedin approximately. the proper position for wiping oi excess water icing or other coating material that sets less quickly than chocolate. As a rule the chocolate coating' material begins to set more quickly than does water icing so it is necessary that chocolate iced articles be cie-tailed sooner after being dipped than is the case with iced biscuit. The de-tailing rollers 40, 4d are mounted upon shafts having sprockets |25, |26 which are driven by an endless chain |21 from a drive sprocket |28 which may be connected to be drivenfrom some part of the driving mechanism for the carrier chains or it may be driven and preferably is driven by Aan indepenednt motor since the speed of rotation of the rollers 43, 44 need not bear any definite relation to the speed of the carrier chains. iThe upper surface of the rollers which wipe'oil.' the excess material rotate counterto the direction of travel of the carrier chains.

In the form or device illustrated with the da! vided tank 30, different kindsofcoating material may be used in the two compartments, thus one .y

compartment may be filled with chocolate coating and one with icing or cther coating material in which case the same or dierent kinds of biscuit may be coated with different materials. In

vsuch case, lboth .of the rollers 43, 44 will be utiadjusted longitudinally 'of the carrier chains as clearly shown in Fig. 11. The idler sprockets |3|, |32 on the heads |29, |30 permit the heads to be adjusted both vertically and laterally without -materially changing the tension oil the driving chain |21. Figs. 13 and 14 show the-mounting and operationv of the de-tailing rollers at right angles to that shown in Fig. 11.

These loading, dipping and de-tailing means, jointly and severally, are important features of the invention. Heretofore, the biscuit to be iced were placed on thevprongs only by hand and they could not be accurately aligned, that is, the biscuit were pushed on the prongs to various distances. Thisvprevented automatic dipping unless the entire bar were dipped, otherwise some f the biscuit wouldbe only partly coated. Also, the mal-alignment of the biscuit"m'ade itimpossible to wipe of! or deftail the excess coating that collects at. the bottom of each biscuit. With the present invention, all biscuit are inserted exactly the same distance between the pins. The biscuit being in exact alignment and an accurate level vvmaintained in the dipping`- tank, only the biscuit and ends of the pins holding them are dipped. There is no dipping of the bars. This effects a considerable economy vin coating material since all coating material on the pins above the biscuit and on the bars is wasted. 'Ihe bottoms of the biscuit being in exact alignment after being dipped will for each size always pass an exact distance from the deetailing rollers so that excess coating may beV wiped off and returned to the tank, thereby effecting a further economy in icing material.A

` Unloader or take-0H The unloader indicated generally by the. number 53 in Fig. 1 is illustrated in detail in Figs. .19 to 21. The downward run of the chain passes around a pair of sprockets |31 which are keyed to a shaft |38 mounted in bearings on the lower part of the fixed frame. The shaft |39 carries 'a gear |39 whichI meshes with a gear |40 that is keyed to a shaft -|4| carrying a pair of sprockets |42 around which a pair of endless chains |43 pass.

These chains |43 carry stripper bars |44 which are spaced apart the same distance as the icing bars 60. The gears |39, |40 are ofthe same size as are also the sprockets |31, |42 so ythat chain |43 and its stripper bars travel at the same speed as the chains 25 and icing bars 60. The upward run of the carrier chains fromthe sprocket |31 passes between vertical guides |45 and the. upward run of the chain |43 passes between similar guides |46 which are inclined upward away from the guides |45. The upward run.

. of` the chain |43 is adjacent the upward run'fof the chain 25 and the two are at their closest approach at thelower ends4 lo1' the` runsfanddiverge gradually toward the top of. the run of the chain |43.

Each of the stripper bars |44 carries Vsets of stripper fingersv |41 which have upwardly bent outer 'ends' carryingpads or cushions- 43. These stripper fingers are spaced'on bars |44 so as to vcome between the biscuit holding vpins or fingers 6I, 62 on the carrier chain 25 as clearly shown in Fig. 21. Directly opposite the stripper fingers |41 onv the bars 44 are transfer ngers |49 having their ends |40 bent downwardly or `opposite to the ends of rthe vstripper fingers |41.

Refer now to Fig.19 and assume that the carrier chain 25 passing aroundthe sprocket |31 has its pins loaded with iced biscuit., As the chain starts on its upward run the Astripper fingers |41 will come beneath vthe iced biscuit andthe cushions |49 will engage betweenv the biscuitand the icing bars 60. As the chains then `continue their upward movement and diverge, the ycushions |49 will press on the rear edge of the `icedvbiscuit andv gradually pull them'out from between the pins 6|, 62 until, asthey approach the topoi' the run of the chain |43, lthe biscuit are entirely free from :the icing pins Aand are now supported entirely by the stripping fingers on vthe bars |44.

At the top of the run, the chains f |43 pass over sprockets |5| mountedon a' shaft |52. This shaft carries a rotating .transfer chute |53` between the sprockets which rotates in timed relation therewith and so that its ends come in alignment withtwo adjacent stripper bars 44. The purpose of these chutes is to transfer Ithe iced biscuit from the stripperr fingers |41 to the transfer fingers |49 of the next bar in advance While the bars are going around the sprockets |5I. The manner in which this is accomplished is clearly illustrated in Fig. 20. When the fingers |41 holding lthe iced biscuit 14` at the top in that figure reach `the dotted `line position.- the biscuit will slide 'inwardly from lthe stripper fingers across the transfer chute |53 and onto the ltransfer fingers |49 on the opposite side of the sprocket. These transfer fingers will catch the biscuit and carry them down on the downward run of the chain |43 until they come lto the comb |54, which has a number of spaced prongs or teeth |55 between which the transfer fingers |49 pass,

`depositing the iced biscuit on the comb fingers down which they slide to lthe conveyor |56 which carries the biscuit away to the packing table or stacking machine.

This unloader serves its greatest usefulness in combination with the loading, dipping and detailing mechanisms-making a completely automatic machine possible. Because of the accurate placing and aligning of the articles on the".

holding pins, the stripper ngers will always engage uniformly behind the articles to remove them from the carrier chains.

In Figs. 22 and'23, I illustrate two typical .biscuit which have been iced on my machine. It will be noticed thatthe wires or holding ngers 6|,k 62 are not inserted in .the biscuitand when the biscuit are removed only small holes or openings |51 lare left in the icing. In former icing machines where thebiscuit are impaled on wire prongs. parts of the biscuit frequently adhere so tightly that they break off and carry large pieces of the icing with .them when the iced goods are removed. This makes defective articles which` or disposed of at a price below that of perfectl merchandise.

Washing nd sterilizing mechanism The mechanism for washing and sterilizing the icing bars and pins that is indicated generally at 55 in Fig. 1 is shown in detail in Figs. 17 and 18.

The downward run of the chains after the biscuit have been removed pass over a pair of sprockets I secured to a shaft |59 that is mounted in bearings near the bottom of a tank Ill which is adapted to be filled with hot water up to such a point that the pins or fingers will tip into it on the lower side of the sprockets |52. In addition to the hot water in the bottom of the tank, there isa steam inlet ISI in the bottom of the tank through which steam may be injected to keep the water hot and agitated so as to thoroughly wash and sterilize the pins. Also steam pipes |62, I are provided above the sprockets between the two runs of the chains that have orifices which direct jets of steam outwardly onto the bars and pins both before and after they enter the -water at the bottom of the tank. Above the .tank there is a steam jacket `I which extends upwardly to embrace the entire vertical runs of the chains at this point and has a laterally extendingv hood I (Fig. 2A) through which the chain passes on a part of its horizontal run from the unloading point. This hood and jacket are kept illled with steam which softens and loosens any icingthat may cling to the pins before they enter the wash at :the bottom of the tank l". When the chains and bars emerge from the top of the jacket they are thoroughly cleaned,'steriliaed and are hot. 'Ihey .then pass across and down to the loading device and because of their residual heat, dry completely before they reach the loading point. Since the hood and Jacket must be open at the points where .the chains enter and leave, an exhaust system or stack is provided to draw oil' the steam and prevent its escaping through these openings into the icing room.

Chain supports The horizontal runs of the chain as shown in Figs. 1, 2A and 2B are very close together in order to economize space. Therefore .they cannot be permitted to sag but must be kept accurately in their runs. In order to prevent their sagging, I provide adjustable rails or guide bars under each horizontal run of the chain on which Ithe chain rollers are adapted to run. One set of these bars is shown in detail in Figs. 24 and 25. Preferably the bars are arranged in pairs connected together. The distance between the tops oi' the two bars on which the chains run being substantially equal to the pitch diameters of Ithe sprockets around which the chains pass. These rails or tracks are arranged so that they are very slightly below .the chains as they leave the sprockets so that the chains have to sag very slightly before the rollers bear upon the rails. By thus having the rails slightly below the point at which the chains leave the. sprockets, the rails may be straight throughout their lengths and the rollers will not strike the ends of the rails butwill firsty engage them as at points |86, a short distance from the ends. Iny Figs. 24 and 25, I show a pair of connected rails |61, I for supporting adjacent upper and' lower runs of the chains which are connected ytogether as aunit by .the brackets l, |10 and are ad- U 2,381,502 deteriorate very quickly and must be scrapped justable as a unit to and from the chains on the frame member |1|, and are individually adjustable on the brackets.

As shown in Figl0, the blade |23 scrapes the material fromthe apron 42 and returns it to tank 38. In order to keep the apron clean, I provide the washing roller |12 which runs in contact with a transfer roller |13 that dips into water tank |14 and carries water up to the roller |12, which in turn spreads the water over the under surface of the lower run of the apron. A scraper or doctor blade |15 removes the semifluid watery-material from the roller |12. The rollers |12 and |13 are driven from the apron A duplicate apron cleaner is provided for apron 42' as indicated at |14 in Fig. 23.

My invention, one embodiment of which is herein illustrated and described, has many advantages over coating and icing machines heretofore used among which are economy in coating material, uniform covering of the articles, less time required to harden ordry the coating because of its uniform thickness, elimination of hand work, no holes inthe articles, no articles lost or broken by impaling them on the pins, no articles are lost by slipping ofi from the pins in the coating material, there are no cripples caused by breaking the biscuit and icing when removing them from the pins, two varieties of articles and two kinds of coating material may be used at the same time, short, brittle and crisp cakes and biscuit may be held by the pins and iced without breakage, the coated articles are without tails or knobs of the coating material, and theA cost of production is much lower. The invention has many other advantages that will be apparent to those skilled in this art.

It will be understood that, while I have illustrated and described but one form of my invention and have used specific terms in describing and -claiming it, the terms used are but illustrative of and not limitations on the invention. For example, the chains may be belts; the bars 60 may be of any form adapted to support the article holding means; the pins 6|, 62 may be hinged fingers, at springs, or other shapes; the coating may be accomplished by other means, as spraying; and other parts of the apparatus may be replaced by equivalents.

While I have shown my invention in a complete automatic machine, it includes many new and useful co-operating subcornbinations and parts, all of which I claim together with all modications and adaptations thereof that come within the spirit or scope of my claims,

What I claim is:

1. In combination a travelling carrier having a substantially horizontal run, icing bars iixedly supported on said carrier and each having a plurality of sets of pins adapted to grip and hold between them articles to be coated, said pins extending from the bar at right angles to its direction of travel, means for insertingv an article to be coated between the pins of each set, means for coating the articles held by the pins, a roller fixed in the path of travel of the coated articles on the said horizontal run adapted to engage and wipe off the excess coating material that collects at the lower edges of the articles, and means for rotating the roller so that its upper surface moves counter to the direction of travel of the articles.

2. In a coating machine, the combination of parallel endless chains, sprockets for supporting and driving said chains in a plurality of upper and lower horizontal runs, icing bars fixed at opposite ends to said chains and travelling there-- ing material, means for driving said propeller at the same speed as said endless chains and its upper run in the same direction as the adjacent lower run of the chains, spaced vanes on said propeller parallel to and spaced apart the same distance as said icing bars, said vanes being arranged so that the article carrying angers of the respective bars will enter between adjacent vanes on the upper run of the propeller.

3. In a coating machine, the combination of parallel endless chains, sprockets for supporting and driving said chains in a plurality-of upper and lower horizontal runs, icing bars fixed at opposite ends to said chains and travelling therewith, said bars being parallel and spaced apart, article holding pins nxed to said bars to project outwardly therefrom, whereby said pins extend downwardly on the lower runs and upwardly on the upper runs of said chains, a dipping tank beneath one o! said lower runs for vcoating material into whichsaid pins are adapted to extendl and immerse the articles carried thereby. an endless propeller mounted in said dipping tank parallel to said lower runs and immersed in the coating material, meansnfor driving said propeller at the same speed assaid endless chains and its upper run in the same direction as the adjacent lower run of the chains, spaced vanes on said propeller parallel to and spaced apart the same distance assaid icing bars, said vanes being arranged so vthat the article carrying lingers of the respective bars will enter between adjacent vanes on the upper run of the propeller, means for removing excess coating material from the lower edges of the articles after they leave the tank, and means y for returning said excess material to the tank.

4. In a coating machine, the combination of parallelV endless chains, sprockets for supporting and driving said chains in a plurality of upper and lower horizontal runs, icing bars ilxed at opposite ends to said chains and travelling therewith, said bars being parallel and spaced apart,

article holding pins iixed to said bars to project outwardly perpendicular to their line of travel,

whereby said pins extend downwardly on the lower runs and upwardly on the upper runs of said chains, a dipping tank beneath one of said lower runs for coating material into which said pins are adapted to extend and immerse the articles carried thereby, means ilxed in the `path of the travel of the coated articles on said one lower run after leaving the dipping tank adapted to engage and wipe oi the excess coating material collected at the lower edges of the articles, said sprockets and chains thereafter operating to turn said articles on alternate upper and lower A runs to reverse the direction of flow of the coating material over the surface of the dipped articles. Y

5; In a coating ,machine the combination of parallel endless chains, sprockets for supporting and driving said chains in a plurality of upper and lower horizontal runs, icing bars fixed at blending it with opposite ends to said chains and travelling therewith, said bars being parallel and spaced apart, article holding pins ilxed to said bars to project outwardly therefrom, whereby said pins extend downwardly on the lower runs and up- .the upper part of the coating material to -flow yin the same direction and at substantially the same speed as the articles that are dipped into -it and the material at the bottom to ilow in the opposite direction, means for removing excess coating material from the lower edges of the articles after they leave thetank, means for re-l turning said excess material to the tank and n the coating material flowing along the bottom. v

6. In a coating machine, the combination of a tank for coating material, a conveyor chain carrying downwardly extending pins adapted to dip into said tank, supply means for maintaining the coating material in the tank at a level such that the pins will dip therein, airfiendless propeller in said tank for circulating said coating material and having upper and lower horizontal runs submerged therein, means for driving the propeller and chain at the same speeds and the upper run of the propeller in the same direction as the chain.

'1. Ina coating machine, the combination of a tank for coating material, a conveyor chain carrying downwardly extending pins adapted to dip into said tank, supply means for maintaining the coating material in the tank at a level such that the pins will dip therein, an endless propeller in said tank having upper and lower runs submerged in the coating material, means for driving the propeller and chain at the same speeds andthe upper run of the propeller in the same direction as the chain, vanes on said propeller spaced apart the same distance as the pins on said chain, said chain and propeller being arranged so that the pins will enter the coating material between the vanes.

y8. In a coating machine, the combination of a tank for coating material, a conveyor chain carrying downwardly extending pins adapted to dip into saidtank, supply means for maintaining the coating material in the tank at a level such that the pins will dip therein, an' endless propeller in f said tank having upper and lower rims submerged in the coating material, means for driving the propeller and chain at the same speeds and the upper run of the propeller in the same direction as the chain, vanes on said propeller spaced apart the same distance as the pins on said chain, said chain and propeller being arranged so that the pins will enter the vcoating material between the vanes, means for returning excess coating material to the tank at the exit end thereof, whereby the returned material will be carried down and along the bottom of the tank to blend with other material therein before reaching the upper run of the propeller.

`9. In a coating machine, the combination of a tank for coating material, a conveyor chain caring the -propeller and chain at the same speeds and the upper run of the propeller in the same direction as the chain, varies on said propeller spaced apart the same distance as the Fpins on said chain,lsaid chain andpropeller being ax'-,y ranged so that the pins will enter the coating material between the vanes at one end of its upper run and leavel the coating material atthe other end, said supply means being located adjacent the end of the propeller where the pins leave whereby new material as it is supplied will be carried down and along the bottom of the tank and blended with other material therein `before reaching said upper run. f

10. In a, coating machine, the combination of parallel endless chains, sprockets i'or 'supporting and driving said chains. icing bars xed at opposite ends to said chains and spaced apart in parallel relation, article holding pins fixed at one end to said bars and arranged in spaced sets oi three, two pins of each set being on one side of the bars and the other pin being on the opposite side of the bars and between the two pins oi the set, said pins projecting outwardly from the bars on one side, a holder for articles to be coated past which said pins travel, means'operating to insert an article from the holder between the pins of each set as they pass the holder with the two pins of each set on the rear side of the article with respect to the direction of travel, the single pin of each set being shorter than the other two pins, and the pins converging toward their free ends.

11. In a coating machine, the combination of parallel endless chains, sprockets for supporting and driving said chains, icing bars nxed at opposite ends to said chains and spaced apart in parallel relation, article holding pins iixed at one end to said bars and arranged in spaced sets of three, two pins of each set being on one side of the bars and the other pin being on the opposite side of the bars and between the two pins of the set, said pins projecting outwardly from the bars on one side and converging toward their free ends, a holder for articles to be coated adjacent which the free ends of the pins pass, a spreader operated in timed relation to the travel of the pins to engage the said other pin of each set and spring it away from the two pins as they come adjacent to the holder, and means for inserting j an article from the holder between the pins of each set while the said other pin is sprung. l

12. In a coating machine, the combination of an endless carrier having spaced sets of pins adapted to hold the articles to be coated, means for driving the carriena loading device adjacent which said pins pass comprising a vertical chute adapted to hold a stack of the articles to be coated, a Asliding head adjacent the lower end yoi' the chute and slidable transversely thereof toward and from said pins as they pass the loading device, a pusher attached to the` rear end of said head and a spreader at the forward end thereof, said vhead being adapted to receive the bottom article from the stack between the pusher and spreader, the pusher being of less thickness than the article, means for advancing the sliding head toward each set of pins as it approaches whereby the spreader will engage one of the pins and spring it away from the others of the set so that vthe article maybe inserted by the pusher between the spread pins, said spreader being of less width than the distance between the unsprung pins of the set whereby said unsprung pins -will lift the article away from said sliding head as the carrier continues its movement, and means forretracting the head.

13. In a. coating machine, the combination of an endless carrier having spaced sets of pins adapted to hold the articles to be coated, means for driving the carrier, a loadingdevice adjacent which said pins pass comprising a vertical chute adapted to hold a stack of the articles to be coated, a sliding head adjacent the lower end of the chute and slidable transversely thereof toward and from said pins as they pass the loading device, a pusher attached to the rear end of said head and a spreader at the forward end thereof, said head being adapted to receive the bottom article from the stack between the pusher and spreader, the pusher being of less thickness than the article, means for advancing the sliding head toward each set of pins as it approaches whereby the spreader will engage one of the pins and spring it away from the others of the set so that the article may lbe inserted by the pusher between the spread pins, said spreader being of less width than the *distance between the unsprung pins of the set whereby said unsprung pins will lift the article away from said sliding head as the carrier con- -tinues its movement, means Afor retracting the head, and means for adjusting the space between the pusher and spreader to receive articles of different size.

14. In a coating machine, the combination of an endless carrier having spaced sets of pins adapted to hold the articles to be coated, means for driving the carrier, a loading device adjacent which said pins pass comprising a vertical chute adapted Y to hold a stack of the articles tobe coated. a sliding head adjacent the lower end of the chute and slidable transversely thereof towardand from said pins as they pass the loading device, a pusher attached to the rear end of said head and a spreader at the forward end thereof, said head being adapted to receive the bottom article from the stack between the pusherl'and spreader, the

pusher being of less thickness than the article,

means for advancing the sliding head toward each set of pins as it approaches whereby the spreader will engage one of the pins and spring it away from the others of the set so that the article may be inserted by the pusher between the spread pins, said spreader being of less width than the distance between the unsprung pins of the set whereby said unsprung pins will lift the article away from said sliding headas the carrier continues its movement, means for retracting the head, and means for adjusting the distance at which the carrier and pins pass the loading device to vary the distance that the articles are inserted between the pins. i

15. In a coating machine, thev combination of an endless carrierv having spaced sets of pins adapted to hold the articles to be coated, means for driving the carrier, a loading device adjacent which said pins pass comprising a vertical chute adapted to hold a stack of the articles to be coated, a sliding head adjacent the lower end of the chute and slidable transversely thereof toward and from said pins as they pass the loading device, a pusher attached to the rear end ci said head and a spreader at the forward end thereof, said head being adapted to receive the bottom article from the stack between the pusher and spreader, the pusher being of'less thickness than the article, means for advancing the sliding head toward each set of -pins vas it approaches whereby the spreader will engage one of the pins and spring article may be inserted by the pusher between the spread pins, said spreader being of less width than the distance between the unsprung pins of the set whereby said unsprung pins will lift the article away from said sliding head as the carrier continues its movement, means for retracting the head, and means for adjusting the delivery end of the chute with respect to the sliding head.

16. In a loading device for a coating machine, the combination of a chute for a stack of the articles to be coated, a sliding head below the openmeans for driving said carrier, and means for reciprocating said head toward and from said holding devices in timed relation thereto whereby the spreader will open said devices and said pusherA will deliver an article thereto.

17. In an article feeding device the combination of a vertical chute adapted to receive a stack of articles, a reciprocating slide beneath the chute, a spreader at the forward end of the slide and a pusher at the rear end thereof, the slide Vbeing adapted to receive the bottom article from the chute between the pusher and spreader.

' 18. In an article feeding device, the combination of a vertical chute adapted to receive a stack of articles, a reciprocating slide beneath the chute, a spreader at the forward end of theslide and a pusher at the rearend thereof, the slide being adapted to receive the bottom article from the chute between Vthe pusher and spreader, the spreader being narrower than the slide and the latter having a slot on each side of the spreader.

19. In an article feeding device, the combination of an endless carrier having sets of three article holding pins spaced apart thereon, means for driving the carrier, a chute adapted to receive a vertical stack of articles, said carrier having a vertical run adjacent said chute, the pins when on said vertical run being arranged on the carrier to extend toward the chute with one pin of each set above and between the other two, a slide below the chute and movable horizontally toward and from said carrier, a spreader on the forward side of said slide adapted to raise the upper pin of each set as it approaches the chute, said spreader -being narrower than the space between the two lower pins, and said slide having a slot on each side of the spreader through which said two lower pins are adapted to pass.

y20. In a coating machine, the combination of parallel endless chains spaced apart, means for driving said chains continuously, said chains having pairs of opposite. inwardly extending lugs spaced apart, icing bars secured at their ends to each of said pairs of lugs, sets of pins secured at one enld to each bar and extending outwardly at right angles to the line of travel of the chains, each set of pins including a single pin on the forward side of the bar and two pins spaced apart on the rear side of the bar, means for driving said chains, and means for inserting articles to be coated 'between the forward pin and rear pins of each set while said chains are being driven.

2l. In a coating machine, a rectangular bar, a pair of parallel slots cut across one face thereof, a single slot cut across the opposite face thereof and inclined to said face, said three slots f lying in parallel planes perpendicular to the length of the bar. and a pin secured at one end in each of said slots, the free ends of all of said pins projecting from the same side of said bar and the plane of the pin in the single slot lying between the other two. u

22. In a coating machine, a rectangular bar, a pair of parallel slots cut across one facethereof, a single slot cut across the opposite face thereof and inclined to said face, said three slots lying in parallel planes perpendicular to the length of the bar, and a pin secured at one end in each of said slots, the free ends of all of said pins projecting from the same side of said bar 'and the planeof the pin in the single slot lying'between the other two, the pin in said inclined slot converging at its free end toward the other two.

23. In a coating machine, a rectangular bar, a pair of parallel slots cut across one face thereof, a single slot cut across thel opposite face thereof and inclined to said face, said three slots lying in parallel planes perpendicular to the length of the bar, and a pin secured at one end in each of said slots, the free ends of all of said pins projecting from the same side of said bar and the plane of the pin in the single slot lying'between the other two, the pin in said inclined slot being shorter than the other two.

24. In a coating machine, thev combination of a pair of continuously driven endless chains spaced apart, a dipping bar rigidly connected at its two ends tosaid chains, sets of holding fingers secured to said bar and extending outwardly from one side thereof, means for inserting an article between the holding ngers of each set with the outer edges of all the articles in alignment with said'bar, means for coating said articles with fluid coating material, a wiping bar adjacent which the outer edges of the coated articles pass, and means for adjusting the wiping b'ar to a xed distance from the dipping bar so that it will wipe excess material from the edges of the articles as they pass while the opening means remains in finger opening position.

25. In combination, a travelling carrier, icing means for inserting and aligning articles to be -coated within the sets of pins so that the edges bars, whereby excess coating material that collects on the aligned edges of the articles will be l wiped oil'.

26. In a coating machine, the combination of an endless carrier, sprockets for supporting and driving said carrier in a plurality of vertical and horizontal runs, icing bars ilxed on said carrier in spaced-apart parallel relation, sets of article holding pins fixed on said bars and extending laterally outward therefrom, the pins of each set being spaced apart laterally of the bar whereby the opposed lpins of each set will grip and hold an article inserted therebetween, a loading device adjacent which the bars pass on a vertical run with the sets of pins extending horizontally toward said device, vsaid loading device comprising means for spreading simultaneously the opposed pins of each set as each :bar comes adjacent thereto and inserting an article to be coated 'between the pins of each set, said inserting means aligning the outer edges of the inserted articles so that they lie in a straight line parallel to the bar, a 

